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Cultivation Tool Design: Design and Construction of Two Novel Cultivation Tools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Glenn J. Evans*
Affiliation:
Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
Robin R. Bellinder
Affiliation:
Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
Russell R. Hahn
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract

Cultivation tools have a long history of use. The integration of cultivation within current organic and conventional weed management programs is conditional on the availability of functional, practical cultivation tools. However, there are performance and operational limitations with current cultivation tools. Serviceable improvement in weed control is the impetus behind creation of new tool designs. The primary objective of this research was to design and construct two cultivators that might address the limitations of current cultivation tools. A secondary objective was to identify historical influences on the technology, availability, and capability of cultivation tools. Two new tractor-mounted cultivators were designed and constructed as loose extractions of antique handheld tools. The first tool, a block cultivator, has a flat surface in the front of the tool that rests against the soil and limits the entrance of a rear-mounted blade. The second tool resembles a stirrup hoe, where a horizontal steel blade with a beveled front edge slices through the upper layer of the soil. Block and stirrup cultivator units were mounted on a toolbar with a traditional S-tine sweep, so that the novel cultivators could be compared directly with a common standard. Relative to the S-tine sweep, the stirrup cultivator reduced weed survival by about one-third and the block cultivator reduced weed survival by greater than two-thirds. Of the three tools, block cultivator performance was least influenced by environmental and operational variances.

Las herramientas de cultivo tienen una larga historia de uso. La integración de labores de labranza en programas orgánicos actuales y de manejo convencional de malezas está condicionada a la disponibilidad de herramientas de cultivo funcionales y prácticas. Sin embargo, existen limitaciones de desempeño y operacionales con las herramientas de cultivo actuales. El mejoramiento duradero en el control de malezas es el ímpetu detrás de la creación de nuevos diseños de herramientas. El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue diseñar y construir dos cultivadoras que puedan enfrentar las limitaciones de las actuales herramientas de cultivo. El objetivo secundario fue identificar las influencias históricas en la tecnología, disponibilidad y capacidad de las herramientas. Las dos nuevas cultivadoras para montar en un tractor fueron diseñadas y fabricadas como herramientas similares a las antiguas de uso manual. La primera herramienta, una cultivadora de bloque, tiene una superficie plana en el frente de la herramienta, la cual se apoya contra el suelo y limita la entrada de una cuchilla montada en la parte trasera. La segunda se parece a un azadón de estribo con una cuchilla horizontal de acero que tiene una orilla frontal biselada que rebana la capa superior del suelo. La cultivadora de bloque y de estribo fueron montadas en una barra junto con una cultivadora tradicional, de tal manera que las cultivadoras nuevas pudieran ser comparadas directamente con un estándar común. En relación a la cultivadora tradicional, la cultivadora de estribo redujo la supervivencia de las malezas por cerca de un tercio y la cultivadora de bloque redujo la supervivencia de las malezas por más de dos tercios. De las tres herramientas, el desempeño de la cultivadora de bloque fue el menos influenciado por las variables ambientales y operacionales.

Type
Notes
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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